Ever had that sinking feeling when your brilliant idea kind of… already exists? Well, OpenAI might just be sweating bullets over their new AI hardware venture, io!
So, they’ve been all jazzed up about their massive $6.5 billion collaboration with the legendary Jony Ive for this io thing. Sounds cutting-edge, right? But plot twist! Another company, iyO, is waving a red flag.
Here’s the lowdown:
- iyO is a Google X spinout that makes hardware for hands-free interaction with your devices: think AI-powered earbuds they call the iyO One.
- They’re claiming OpenAI and Ive’s LoveFrom actually chatted with them, first in 2022 and again this spring, just before the big io announcement. Super awkward!
- Following a court order, OpenAI has totally scrubbed their io blog post and that cool nine-minute promo video with Ive and Altman from their website and YouTube. Vanished!
- OpenAI, though, is standing firm. They say the acquisition is still on track and this whole trademark mess is
“utterly baseless.”
Why this is a head-scratcher:
Listen, this probably won’t totally derail the grand plans of OpenAI and Jony Ive. But the tea is piping hot! If iyO‘s side of the story holds water, with LoveFrom folks allegedly buying their device, asking for the inside scoop, and then that almost identical name popping up, it definitely casts a shadow. It’s not quite the ‘pure innovation’ vibe OpenAI was projecting for io, is it? More like a ‘wait, what?!’ moment in the AI universe.